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THE JAINA CONCEPT OF THE DEITY
theory of the incarnation of God in the Vedic religion. Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, though born as man, are believed in later Brahmanical literature as the incarnations, and similarly the Śramanic sects have the theory of the series of Buddhas and Tirthankaras. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha is one single person, but his various forms are accepted as the Buddhas at different places and at different times. But the Jainas are firm in their belief that each of the Tirthankaras is at separate individual, a perfect soul. Even when liberated from the physical integument, they keep their separate individual identity, even though they may be occupying the same point in space1.
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Now let us see what the specific qualities and virtues of a Tirthankara. are. We are familiar with the strenuous ascetic life of Lord Mahavira's who is considered the last Tirthankara. He, by his incessant meditations on his inner self, was able to remove all passions from his soul and purify it. On becoming a pure soul, he attained omniscience". And this is the reason why he was able to show the right path to salvation; and in whatever he preached, there was no room for contradiction. This idea is very well expressed by the famous Jaina logician Samantabhadra, differentiating the Jaina Arhat from other preceptors:
(1) Devagama-nabhoyäna-cämarädivibhutayaḥ, Māyāvisvapi dréyante nätastvamasi no mahān. (2) Tirthakṛtsamayänäñca parsparavirodhataḥ,
Sarveṣāmāptată nästi kaścideva bhaved guruḥ. (3) Sa tvamevāsi nirdoso yuktiśästrävirodhivāk, Avirodho yadiṣṭam te prasiddhena na badhyate.
-Aptamimämsä.-1, 3, 61
(1) The miraculous attainments like an attendance offered by the celestial beings, a walking in the sky, a fan-service (worked by the celestial beings), and so on and so forth are found in the possession of even jugglers; these are therefore not what make you great in our eyes.
(2) As for the preachings of the various sect-founders, they can not be all authentic because they are mutually contradictory; hence of these sectfounders some one at the most can be worthy of reverence.
(3) And such an omniscient personage you alone are whose utterance is neither in conflict with logic nor in conflict with scripture. As for the proof of such an absence of conflict, it is the circumstance that what you seek to establish is never contradicted by what is known to be the case.
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